Collide

by Shelly Crane

  “I can make people think things, like Merrick, but instead of them hearing my thoughts they actually think what I want them to. They even say it out loud or do it.”

  “Danny...I...”

  Then I got what he meant.

  The next thing out of my mouth was my voice but not my words. It was a strange feeling, like my mouth had a brain of its own. I felt it moving, but in my brain it was perfectly still.

  “Danny is wonderful. Danny is the best brother ever. Danny is a skilled basketball player,” he made me say and I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand.

  “See...What’s wrong with me, Sherry? What’s going on?”

  I had no explanations to tell him. We’d seen some pretty weird things lately. As shocking as this was it should be believable against Markers and Lighters.

  “Does Celeste know?” I asked, swallowing.

  “No. I couldn’t tell her. She thinks I’m sick or something. It’s been doing this for a week. Well, that’s as long as I know of it. I tried to tell Celeste something and when she answered, she said what I wanted her to say instead. Then I did it again and I’ve been doing to people for days now. It seems they don’t even realize it, really.”

  “Hold on. Stay right there,” I said, patting his arm and headed back out his door.

  What?! Danny has some kinda power now?

  For just a minute I buried my face in my hands in the hall outside his room and had a mini panic attack. Why Danny? Things couldn’t just be normal around here for any length of time! There was constantly some kind of drama.

  Ok. Back to business.

  I ran to the commons room yelling for Jeff and Merrick. Jeff ran in first in a flash, grabbing my arm to make sure I was ok.

  “I’m ok, it’s not me. Where’s Merrick?”

  He must be calling him in his mind. Merrick flashed down the stairs and ran to us with inhuman speed. I spoke before he could to stop him from freaking out.

  “Danny. He’s... Come on. See for yourself.”

  I took them to Danny’s room with Merrick looking extremely worried. When we went in, Danny was sitting there shirtless like before, wrapped in his sheet on the floor in the fetal position.

  “Danny. Tell them,” I commanded. He looked at me like he couldn’t believe I brought them, like I betrayed him. “Danny! I had to. Something is happening to you and they need to know. Tell them!” I shouted because I could no longer take the suspense of knowing what was wrong with my only brother.

  “I can...do something. I can make people think things, thoughts.”

  He looked up at them from under his eyelashes.

  “What do you mean?” Merrick bent down on his haunches to survey Danny. “Show me what you mean?”

  Merrick looked straight ahead and began to speak the words to the song ‘Crazy Train.’

  “Mental wounds still screaming, driving me insane, I’m going off the rails on a crazy train.” After Merrick spoke he shook his head and his eyes went wide with shock.

  “See. What does that mean? What’s wrong with me?” Danny pleaded, looking back and forth from Merrick to Jeff.

  They looked at each other and I could tell they were talking in their minds. I reached out and grabbed both of their forearms gently and spoke softly.

  “Please tell us what you’re saying. We can handle it.”

  “We don’t know. I mean, the only supernatural power I’ve ever seen on a human are the Muses and the Taker. I’ve never heard of other humans developing abilities. I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised with everything else so strange going on. I...we don’t know what to tell you,” Merrick said, looking flabbergasted and winded.

  “Ok. Well, is that all you can do? Have you tried anything else?” Jeff asked.

  “Isn’t that enough?” Danny said hastily then blew out a breath to calm himself. “No I haven’t tried anything else and from the way I see it, they only know I’ve done it to them when I tell them about it beforehand. Sherry and you knew but Celeste, Ryan, and Paul didn’t. They just acted like...nothing happened afterwards, like they didn’t even know they had spoken or done anything.”

  I believed but at the same time I feel dismayed and unsettled. What was going on? What did this mean? Was Danny the only one and why did Merrick and Jeff not know about all this? Why did I feel like I wanted to punch something? Why couldn’t we get a break?

  “Look, let’s keep this between us until we figure out what’s going on here, ok? The other Keepers shouldn’t find out either, as we are already staying out of each others head. That shouldn’t be too hard,” Jeff explained.

  “Why are you staying out of each others heads?” Danny asked quizzically.

  Crap. I hadn’t even realized Jeff’s slip up until Danny did.

  “Uh. We are just...giving each other a break,” Jeff explained but Danny didn’t look convinced, given away by his squint.

  “Sis? You can’t lie to me, what’s going on? Are there others? Someone else having problems like me? It’s bad isn’t it! Oh no. What’s going to...” Danny was beginning to freak so I spilled all the beans.

  “We got married, Danny. Merrick and I got married yesterday. The Keepers are just giving us some privacy.”

  He looked more shocked about that than he did about his new abilities. His jaw flew open and his eyebrows pulled together in a scowl.

  “You got married without me!” Danny yelled, furious.

  That definitely was not what I expected.

  “Danny, we didn’t want to cause a scene or whatever. We just wanted to get married first then tell people eventually. You already knew about it, it’s not like we could make a big production about it, right? We went by ourselves. I was going to tell you-”

  “Didn’t you think I would want to be there?” Danny looked so much like dad when he spoke like that.

  Soft and interrupting me with his stern yet hurt voice. Like the time I ran away from home and dad caught me sneaking in after only being gone fifteen minutes.

  “Yes, I did but, you couldn’t go, Danny. You’re a Special. Remember?” I reminded him softly but still felt like I was whipping a puppy.

  “Well...I still wish you had told me. All the Keepers knew and I didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought it would be better if-”

  I didn’t even finish and Danny was reaching over to hug me.

  “I can’t believe you’re married. My little sister is someone’s wife. I never thought I’d get the chance to be a brother-in-law, no offense.”

  “None taken. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I understand, it just sucks is all. I mean, I could’ve walked you down the aisle since dad isn’t here. I would’ve loved that,” he whispered the last part, like it was a secret that he was letting me in on.

  I just smiled and held him, trying not to cry. I understood. If he had eloped I would have wrung his neck but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  A quick glance over at Merrick and Jeff and I saw two smiles.

  “You two are so human, I hope you know that,” I told them through a comical tear strained voice and Jeff stifled a short laugh unsuccessfully.

  “Danny, I’m sorry,” Merrick, still bent down, reached over to shake his hand as he spoke.

  “It’s cool. I may not be thrilled but I understand why you had to do it that way. I would say you better be good to her but, I already know you will be,” Danny said with such a conviction, that too made me want to cry even more.

  “Thanks. I appreciate that and I will.”

  “Ok,” Danny breathes and rubbed his hand over his face. “So back to the fact that I’m a freak. What do we do other than keep quiet?”

  “We’ll figure it all out. Do you feel ok physically?” Jeff asked bending back down to examine him more closely.

  “Um. I guess. Just really tired lately. I gotta tell Celeste. She’s not going to buy the ‘I’m sick’ story forever, especially with her checking on me once an hour.”

  “Tha
t’s ok, just tell her to keep quiet about it until we find out something. Merrick and I will discuss what we need to do and let you know.”

  We all stood up, except Danny. He did look tired even though he had slept all night and then some. His eyes were pale and glazed like he was fighting an infection. That must have had something to do with this new ability. The Muses wrath drained my strength so it made sense to assume that all the supernatural stuff would follow the same rules.

  Please, let him be ok.

  Katie was holding Sky in the rocker in the commons room when I walked back through. She hadn’t really left her room since the baby was born.

  I tried to give them their privacy and hadn’t gone to see them. Not only that but I was scared about the same feelings coming back making me want a baby of my own. Not to mention the fact that we’d been kinda busy around there. I wished I had gone to see her now.

  “Hey, Katie. Hey, Sky.” My voice went automatically to baby talk mode when I said her name. “Wow. She is still just as gorgeous,” I said looking down at them both.

  “Yeah, she is. So Aunt Sherry, you wanna hold her again? We haven’t seen you in a while,” Katie said with a small crooked smile.

  Aunt Sherry. With Danny as a brother, I assumed I’d never hear those words.

  “Yes, of course I do.” I reached down to cuddle the sweet baby in the crook of my arm with Katie’s help. “Sorry, things have been kinda crazy lately.”

  “It’s ok. I never said thank you for helping out the day she was born.”

  “It was my pleasure,” I said and I meant it.

  She smiled at me as if she understood but, I knew there was no way she really could. I no longer care, though, with the baby trance taking me over again even more potent than before.

  Sky was sweet smelling like lavender and her straight pitch black hair was soft against my arm, though there isn’t much of it. I sighed rocking her back and forth as I began to circulate the room with her.

  After a couple minutes I looked over to see that poor Kate had already passed out in the rocker with exhaustion. I grabbed a blanket from the couch and pulled it over her, impressively with one arm.

  I swayed with little content Sky in my arms and left her mommy to doze for a minute. Merrick and Jeff were discussing things silently in the kitchen leaning against the counters. Somehow I could always tell when they were silently conversing. Because they just got this look on their face.

  Merrick saw me coming as I made my way down the hall and I saw that familiar smile creep up his square jaw. I smiled at him as I passed and decided to walk down to see Calvin. I hadn’t seen him nor Lana in a while and I wanted to check on them.

  When I walked in they were both still in bed. I quietly tip toed out and decided to visit Trudy who also hadn’t been seen in a while. I swayed back and forth while walking at an incredibly slow pace but not minding. I wanted to keep the baby soothed and happy.

  With triple the time it would normally take, I peeked in Trudy’s room. She was asleep too. What was going on? It was eleven o’clock in the morning. Why was everyone still sleeping? Trudy never slept past the crack of dawn. Ever.

  The realization hit me and I could only shake my head. Oh great. Now we had a bunker full of Specials and everybody was sleeping their days away because they were all developing these powers like Danny. Jeez. Could we ever get a break? Peace was like glazed donuts down here. It didn’t last long.

  I slowly peeked at Kate and saw she was still sleeping. She has good reason to. I went to the kitchen and with one look at me they knew something was wrong.

  “What is it, Sherry?” Merrick asked, coming to meet me in the doorway while Jeff took a chair in front of us.

  “I think we have a problem. Where is everyone?” I asked but didn’t give them time to answer. “They are all sleeping. Like Danny.”

  They must’ve seen it too. Jeff leaned his head on his chair back and closed his eyes tightly in frustration. Merrick let out a long sigh.

  “Alright,” Jeff said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “After lunch we’ve got to call a meeting. We need to see what’s going on with everybody. Maybe some of the others, like Danny, have noticed something but, were too scared to say anything. I can’t believe this. None of them trusted us enough to tell us? We’re their guardians!” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Maybe this could be a good thing. Let’s just talk to everyone first.”

  I walked the baby into Kate and Paul’s room, Paul was sprawled out asleep on the bed. I laid Sky in her crib, her closed eyes twitched with dreams and she made little grunts and stretches then she laid peacefully still.

  Merrick seemed completely at a loss, staring at a spot on the wall blankly when I came back into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table so I came up behind him and massaged his shoulders trying my best to comfort him.

  “Babe, it’s ok. We’ll handle this. Maybe I jumped to the wrong conclusion,” I reasoned.

  “No, you didn’t. You’re right and you know it. I just don’t know what all this could mean. I don’t like not knowing. How can I keep you and Danny safe when I don’t even know what’s going on in the next room?”

  “We’ll figure it out, we always do.”

  I came around his chair and sat down facing him in his lap. Jeff was gone so he must’ve went somewhere to think.

  I held Merrick’s face in my hands and pushed my lips to his making him tightened his grip on my waist. I pulled back just a little, still feeling his breath on my face as I tried again to soothe him.

  “Don’t worry so much, Keeper. We’ll be alright.”

  “Maybe you could take my mind off of it?” His voice was deep as he ran his fingers down my arm.

  “Hmmm... How would I do that?” I said in a teasing tone but, I had goose bumps already.

  “I can think of a few ways.”

  He pulled my face to his with a hand on the back of my neck and his lips took over mine hard. His tongue turned circles around mine and his fingers bit into my flesh.

  I forgot for just a second that we were in the kitchen and then I was brought back to reality with the sound of shuffling footsteps. I pulled back and positioned myself in a more respectable manner on Merrick’s lap. It was Danny.

  “Morning again Mr. and Mrs...uh...what are you gonna be called?” he asked, looking at us suspiciously.

  “Afternoon actually and don’t ask.” I laughed glancing at Merrick.

  “So, should I ask what’s going on? Jeff is freaking out down the hall.”

  “We don’t think it’s just you. The others are showing signs of it too. We’re going to have a meeting about it once we can get everyone to wake up. Danny, I need you to tell everyone what’s going on with you,” Merrick answered, back to his glum thinking.

  “What? You mean others might have these...powers too? Whoa.”

  “We’ll see.”

  The Powers That Be

  Chapter 29

  With the meeting regarding the Specials and their powers called to order and everyone present and accounted for, Merrick and Jeff seemed to already know the answers before asking them. Something was happening and changing. The rules were no longer the same for either of our worlds.

  Anxiously, the conversation began. I was prepared for an overkill of gasp and outbursts but, I was surprised once again. Mostly people just looked pensive, thoughtful and scared. Oh no.

  They did notice something different in themselves.

  I reached over and rubbed my hand on Danny’s back as he slumped over on the couch edge, elbows on his knees still looking exhausted.

  Celeste wasn’t sitting by him nor was she looking his way. She didn’t seem too worried about him earlier either. Hmmm. I continued to look at her and noticed that she too looked tired and worried.

  She refused to meet my eyes or look anywhere in our general direction. Margo sat on the couch next to her and she was more surprised than anyone by the news. Kay, who knew what was going on from the other Keeper’s minds was
sitting on Celeste’s other side looking like a death sentence was about to be carried out.

  What was going on here? If people knew something weird was happening to them, why would they not say anything? Surely Celeste would have mentioned something to her clearly astonished mother. Why did Danny wait for me to check on him and force it out of him?

  Jeff finished up and asked people to please speak up if they had noticed any changes. No one said an word. He then spoke for Danny to break the ice.

  “Danny already advised us this morning of his change.”

  That got Celeste’s attention. Her face jerked up in panic, her eyebrows arched up in surprise and mouth opened wide.

  “What is it?” Celeste almost yelled, looking right at Danny. Then she quieted her tone and met his eyes with nothing but concern. “Danny, what is it?”

  “I can...I can put thoughts into other’s heads, tell them what to do. I did it to you and you didn’t even notice.”

  Danny seemed sad and remorseful by his admission like he had done something wrong.

  Celeste got up and walked over to him to sit on his lap as he outstretched his arms for her. They had apparently been avoiding each other and trying to hide their new developments. She pressed her forehead to his and confessed.

  “Mine is seeing. I can see anybody at any time if I just think about them. I can see what they are doing or saying and who’s with them.”

  This turned a few heads and got me thinking.

  Trudy stood next. She was sullen with eyes red and dark eerie bags under them like she’d been crying. She didn’t look at all like someone who had been sleeping nonstop for days.

  “I...can hear things. I can hear things I’m not supposed to from far away. You guys talking in your rooms or anywhere in the bunker really, I can hear you. That’s why I’ve been spending so much time in my room. I felt guilty for listening but I don’t know how to turn it off. I just bury my head in my pillow. I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”

  She put her face in her hands and started crying again. I was closest, so I stood grabbed her for a hug. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me so tight. I felt her shaking and it wasn’t until then that I realized how scared she was.